A major study published today in Britain offers clear evidence — again — that marriage is the best context for bringing up children. The study is noteworthy because of the widespread respect that it has already attracted and for the fact that it, in a very real sense, merely states the obvious (or what certainly should be obvious).

A group of liberal intellectuals and activists has released a statement calling for the nation to transcend contentious debates over same-sex marriage and sexuality by, in effect, abolishing marriage as a social norm and institution.

The Boston Globe offers a frightening view of marriage in the eyes of young African-Americans. The article is haunting as it reveals the bleak view of marriage held by these young people:

Can we live without loyalty? James Q. Wilson argues that the decline of marriage and loyalty now threatens to undermine our social cohesiveness and to produce a generation that cares little about loyalty and prizes freedom over character.

The New York Times has been running a most interesting series of articles in recent weeks entitled “The New Gender Divide.” In today’s edition, the paper looks at a new pattern among men without college education — marrying late or not at all.

The transition to adulthood used to be one of the main goals of the young. Adulthood was seen to be a status worth achieving and was understood to be a set of responsibilities worth fulfilling. At least, that’s the way it used to be. Now, an entire generation seems to be finding itself locked in the grip of eternal youth, unwilling or unable to grow up.

The decision against same-sex marriage handed down July 6 by the New York Court of Appeals (that state’s highest court) continues to send shock waves across the nation. The first wave of media coverage focused on the fact that the court found no basic constitutional right to same-sex marriage and declared that any change in the state’s marital law would have to come from the legislative branch.

This is the season of weddings. My wife and I will attend three weddings in the span of eight days this week or so. These are wonderful Christian young people who are deeply committed believers and who are taking to marriage with full biblical seriousness.

“It is not controversial to contend that in the United States, constitutional law serves as a decisive battleground in the struggle over freedom’s moral and political meaning,” asserts Peter Berkowitz. “It is another matter to assess the impact of the battleground on the battle, to clarify the current balance of power, and to anticipate the battles to come.”

Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) admits that political conservatives have often failed to present a comprehensive vision of the underlying commitments and convictions that frame the conservative vision. Beyond this, he laments the fact that some conservatives fail to link those basic convictions with political decisions and matters of public policy. He’s out to reverse that failure, and his new book It Takes a Family: Conservatism and the Common Good is one of the most important books written by a political figure in recent American history.